Hinged knee brace having torque pads for producing inward support pressure

ABSTRACT

A knee brace for supporting a weakened knee having a singlepiece cylindrical sleeve of elastic material dimensioned to accommodate the wearer&#39;&#39;s knee. A pair of hinges with elongated arms are located on opposite outer sides of the sleeve to laterally support the knee without impairing the normal bending of the knee joint. Pads are provided on both sides of the sleeve between the associated lower arms of each hinge and opposite sides of the knee to provide a torque on the hinge arms which results in the application of an inward supporting pressure on the knee joint. A pair of openings are provided on the front and rear of the sleeve to accommodate the kneecap and to prevent bunching of the sleeve as the knee bends. Additionally, a pair of replaceable strips are provided to alternatively fully encircle or partially encircle the wearer&#39;&#39;s leg above and below the knee to insure that the brace will remain properly positioned.

States Patent 1 Lewis Jan. 22, 1974 HINGED KNEE BRACE HAVING TORQUE PADSFOR PRODUCING INWARI) SUPPORT PRESSURE Hector E. Lewis, Cincinnati, Ohio[52] U.S. Cl 128/80 C, 128/DIG. 15, 2/24 [51] Int. Cl. A6lf 5/00 [58]Field of Search. 128/80 C, 80 R, DIG. 6, 80 F,

l28/DIG. 15, 165, 157, 88; 2/22, 24

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,194,233 7/1965 Peckham128/80 C OTHER PUBLICATIONS Richards Knee Support, Richards Mfg. Co.(catalog) Memphis, Tenn., 1966, page 17.

Advertisement of Truform Anatomical Supports Appearing in the Journal ofBone & Joint Surgery, 1965,

page 63.

Hinged Knee Brace, DePuy Orthopedic Appliances. Splints FractureEquipment (catalog), DePuy Mfg. Co., Inc., Warsaw, Indiana, 1964, page104.

Primary ExaminerRichard A. Gaudet Assistant Examiner-Ronald L. FrinksAttorney, Agent, or Firm-James S. I-light et a1.

[5 7 1 ABSTRACT A knee brace for supporting a weakened knee having asingle-piece cylindrical sleeve of elastic material dimensioned toaccommodate the wearers knee. A pair of hinges with elongated arms arelocated on opposite outer sides of the sleeve to laterally support theknee without impairing the normal bending of the knee joint. Pads areprovided on both sides of the sleeve between the associated lower armsof each hinge and opposite sides of the knee'to provide a torque on thehinge arms which results in the application of an inward supportingpressure on the knee joint. A pair of openings are provided on the frontand rear of the sleeve to accommodate the kneecap and to preventbunching of the sleeve as the knee bends. Additionally, a pair ofreplaceable strips are provided to alternatively fully encircle orpartially encircle the wearers leg above and below the knee to insurethat the brace will remain properly positioned.

3 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures HINGED E BRACE HAVING TORQUE PADS FORPRODUCING INWARD SUPPORT PRESSURE This invention relates generally toprotective and supporting bandages and is particularly directed to anelastic knee brace adapted to prevent injuries to the knee and toprovide support for an already injured or weakened knee.

In recent years, due to the popularity of the game of football,increased attention to football-related injuries has resulted. Ofparticular interest currently are devices which can be worn by playerswho have sustained various knee injuries and which will both protect theknee against further injury, and additionally support the alreadyweakened knee sufficiently to allow the injured player to resume hisactivities on the playing field with a minimum of impairment of movementand discomfort. While football-related knee injuries have been a primecontributor to interest in these supports, torn ligaments, tomcartilages, arthritis and other kneeweakening conditions have alsocontributed to interest in knee braces.

A frequently employed approach to supporting a weakened knee has been toapply adhesive tape around the joint in order to provide some measure ofprotection and added strength. This approach, however, is expensivesince it requires the time of a trainer, and a significant amount ofadhesive tape which is not reusable. Also, it leads to discomfortarising from impaired circulation. There is also discomfort when theadhesive tape is removed from the skin. To overcome some of thedisadvantages of taping, various elastic sleeves have been employed,some using stiffeners to provide additional strength to the brace in aneffort to assist the wearer. However, even these often have problemsassociated with their use, such as impairing normal bending movement ofthe knee joint.

Therefore, it is the principal object of this invention to provide aknee brace which provides a high degree of support without sacrificingfreedom in normal bending action, and yet is reusable, and easily put onor taken off by the wearer without the discomfort associated withremoval of adhesive tape or the inconvenience of undoing numerous lacesor straps.

This objective has been accomplished, in part, by providing a hinged,elastic sleeve knee brace with pads interiorly of the hinge arms whichapply a torque to the hinge arms in a direction such that the centralpivotal portion of the hinges are urged inwardly, enhancing the lateralsupportive pressure applied to the knee by the brace. In accordance witha further aspect of this invention, dual purpose adjustable strapshaving a length exceeding the knee girth are provided which are slidablypassed through oppositely positioned rings secured to the sleeve. Thestraps fully encircle the entire leg proximate the upper and lower hingearms, or alternatively encircle the leg only partially, spanning thehinge arms across only the back of the leg. In the full leg-encirclingstrap configuration, the straps function to hold the brace in positionabout the knee, whereas in the partial encircling orientation the strapsoperate to pull the hinges rearwardly assisting in maintaining the pivotpoint of the hinge at the desired location coincident with the bendingaxis of the knee. Finally, and pursuant to a further feature of theinvention, an oversized opening may be provided in one of the hinge armsto slidably receive the hinge pin, providing a floating hinge actionwhich permits the hinge point to vary with variations in position of theknee axis as the knee bends through different and varying angles.

It is another objective of this invention to provide a knee brace havingopenings to accommodate the kneecap area and the area behind the knee toprevent bunching of the brace as the knee is flexed and, consequently,providing a brace which is substantially more comfortable to the wearerthan previously known braces.

These and other objectives, features and advantages of this inventionwill become more readily apparent from the following detaileddescription of the drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment ofthe present invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the kneebrace of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view of the preferred embodiment; 4

FIG. 3 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of the knee brace inFIG. 1 showing the hinge and side thereof;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the knee brace;

FIG. 5 is an elevational view, in cross-section, of the knee brace,showing the force transmitted to the side of the knee joint by the hingearms as a consequence of the pads;

FIG. 6 shows an alternative hinge;

FIG. 7 shows a plan view of a modified knee brace with a strap for onlypartially encircling the wearers leg.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the brace is seen to include a substantiallycylindrical sleeve 10 which forms the main body of the knee brace andcomprises an elastic material, either of the two-way or one-way stretchvariety. The sleeve preferably tapers slightly from top to bottom andalso is preferably slightly curved with the front surface being slightlyconvex in order to conform to the contours of the knee and the portionsof the leg slightly above and slightly below the knee joint itself. Thetop edge 11 and the bottom edge 12 are bound with a suitable elasticmaterial in order to prevent the unravelling of the elastic threads ofthe sleeve 10. The sleeve I0 is additionally provided with a frontopening 13 which is located substantially equidistant between the topedge 11 and the bottom edge 12 of the sleeve 10 and is also bound withan elastic material to prevent thread unravelling. The front opening 13is located at a point to accommodate the kneecap of the wearer andprevent binding of the material against the flexing kneecap as thewearers leg is bent. A second or rear opening 14 is provided in thesleeve 10 and is located opposite the front openingl3. Opening 14 ispreferably somewhat larger in size than the front opening 13. The rearopening 14 is located at a point corresponding to the back of thewearers knee and is substantially equidistant between the top edge 11and the bottom edge 12. Opening 14 is provided to prevent bunching ofthe sleeve material 10 as the knee is bent, and consequently-renders theknee brace more comfortable.

Disposed on either side of the sleeve 10 and substantially equidistantbetween the center of the front and the center of the rear openings 13and 14 is an elongated hinge, shown generally as 15, which is preferablymade from tempered brass, or stainless steel, which can be shaped to thecontour of the leg although other metals having the desired strengthcharacteristics can be utilized. Each elongated hinge has upper andlower elongated arms 16a and 16b which take the form of substantiallyrectangular-shaped plates with rounded free ends 17a and 17b andsmoothly rearwardly curved overlapping hinged ends or ears 18a and 18b.A pin 19 passes through each of the hinged ends 180 and 18b in adirection perpendicular to the plane of the ends to permit each of theelongated arms 16a and 16b to be pivotally joined about an axisperpendicular to the plane of the arms 16a and 16b passing through thepin 19. At least one of the holes 75 in arms 16a and 16b through whichpin 19 passes is oversized to permit movement of the pin with respect toat least one of the hinge arms. Such pin movement enables the hingepoint of the hinge to float as the knee bends, in turn permitting thehinge point to vary with variations in location of the knee axis as theknee bends. However, if the floating action of the movable pin is notdesired, the holes through the arms 16a and 16b should be made toaccommodate the pin only, preventing movement of the pin with relationto both arms.

Advantageously, the ears 18a and 18b have a curved forward facing edge20 which smoothly connects the central section of the elongated arms 16aand 16b with the ears to provide a substantially smooth edge for allangular configurations of the hinge. This feature is especiallyadvantageous when the user wears pants or stockings over the brace.Since the forward edge 20 of the hinge is smooth and does not have anysharp protrusions, the forward hinge edge does not catch and tear thestocking or material of the pant leg. Thus, by providing a curved edge20, the possibility of cutting or tearing a pant leg or stocking iseliminated.

Located between the central portion of the elongated arms 16a and 16band the terminal or ear portions 18a and 18b are offset portions 21which are provided to displace the ear portions to a plane which isparallel but displaced from the plane of the extended arm 16. Thisoffset displaces the inner end of each pin 19 outwardly sufficiently toprevent the pin from rubbing against the knee of the wearer.

The elongated arms 16a and 16b are disposed within the pockets, showngenerally as 22. Each pocket comprises an outer cover 23 which extendsfrom beyond the rounded end 17 to a point adjacent the offset portion 21on each of the elongated arms 16. The outer cover 23 preferablycomprises a thick, somewhat flexible leather material although othermaterials having the same strength and flexibility characteristics mayalso be used. The inner side 24 of each pocket 22 comprises a thinnerand somewhat more flexible material than the outer cover 23 and may alsobe made of leather or other suitably strong and flexible material. Theinner side of the upper pocket 25 has a shape which substantiallyconforms to the shape of the upper elongated arm for the hinge 15 andincludes a rearwardly disposed ear-conforming portion 27 which underliesthe ear portions 18a and 18b of each of the elongated arms 16a and 16b.The inner side of the lower pocket 26, however, does not have arearwardly extending ear portion and is substantially rectangular-shapedwith rounded ends.

Extending from the upper end of the upper pocket to the lower end of thelower pocket is a single, flexible, padded strip 28, preferably leather,which is stitched to the sleeve 10. The elongated strip 28 provides thewearer with protection against blows to the side of the knee.

The pockets 22, including the outer cover 23, the inner side of eachpocket, and the elongated strip 28 are stitched to the sleeve 10. Thepockets 22 permit the hinges 15 to be removed from the brace if thewearer does not desire or require the additional support of thesehinges.

Positioned above and below the front opening 13 and the rear opening 14and on the side of the knee brace are four strap loops or rings 30preferably made of stainless steel, although other metals, strongplastics, fiber bundles or even leather would be acceptable. Each of thestrap loops 30 is held in place by a looped web 31 whose ends are sewnbetween the inner sides 24 of the pockets 22 and the elongated strip 28.

The brace'also includes a pair of straps 32 and 33.

The upper strap 32 and the lower strap 33 include a backing web havingVelcro fastening looped fibers 34 on one side thereof and Velcrofastening hooks 35 on the other side of the backing web. The lower strap33 is shown in FIG. 1 with its hooked portion 35 facing outwardly fromthe sleeve 10 and the looped fiber portion 34 facing inwardly toward thesurface of the sleeve. When a strap, such as lower strap 33, completelyencircles the leg, the looped fiber portion 34 can be pressed againstthe hooked region 35 permitting the hooks to engage the loops so thatthe strap 33 will remain secured. Once secured, the strap assists inmaintaining the brace in the desired position on the knee. Since thehooks in the hooked region 35 are made of a resilient material, thestrap may be released simply by pulling the looped fiber portion awayfrom the hooks until all of the engaged loops have been disengaged.

The straps, such as upper strap 32, is positioned, as shown in FIG. 1,through each of the strap loops 30 in a manner permitting the strap topartially encircle the sleeve 10. This partial encircling of the sleeveis also depicted in phantom lines in FIG. 4 wherein the hooked portion35 is bent towards the back side of the sleeve as shown generally at 36so that the hooks project inwardly towards the sleeve 10. The loopedfiber portion 34 is bent back as shown generally at 37 so that thelooped fibers are disposed away from the sleeve 10 to permit theengagement of the loops with the hooks shown generally at 38. Whensecured in a partial leg-encircling position, the strap pulls the hingesrearwardly, assisting in maintaining the hinge pins 19 on the axis ofknee bending.

From this description of the straps, it will be clear that either theupper strap 32 or the lower strap 33 can be secured in a position inwhich the strap completely encircles the sleeve 10 of the knee brace orthe straps may be positioned to only partially encircle the sleeve 10 asdepicted by the upper strap 32 in FIG. 1. It will also be clear thatother belt-like straps can be employed rather than the Velcro strapsshown without impairing the utility or comfort of the knee brace.

Disposed on the inner side of the sleeve 10 and located substantiallyopposite each of the pivotal connections between the elongated arms ofthe hinges 15 is a knee joint pad 40. The pad 40 includes a central foamrubber core 41 located in a fabric envelope. The envelope is sewn to thesleeve 10, and locates the foam pad 41 in a fixed position with respectto the hinges 15. The

foam pad 41 has a forward convex edge 42 disposed near the front opening13 and is so shaped to conform to the kneecap and provide comfort forthe wearer. The upper and lower edges 43 of the foam pad 41 are disposedin a rearwardly converging relationship and extend across substantiallythe entirety of the sides of the sleeve 11 to a rear vertical edge 44.The pads 40 are designed to provide an inward lateral pressure from theelastic sleeve to the wearers knee joint, and also provide a measure ofprotection from possible blows which might strike the side of thewearers knee.

Disposed near the lower end of the sleeve are two other pads showngenerally at 45. Pads 45 are rectangular, and are disposed on oppositesides of the inner surface of the sleeve between the knee and thelowermost ends 17a and 17b of elongated hinge arms 16a and 16b. Thelower pads 45, like the knee joint pads 40,

have a foam rubber core and a fabric envelope 47 g which is sewn to theinner surface of the sleeve 10, securing the pads to the sleeve. Thelower pads 45 by isolating the lower edges 17b of hinge arms 16b fromthe wearers calf also serve to provide a torque T on the hinge as shownin FIG. 5. Specifically, pad 45 by applying a force F at the lower endof the elongated arm 16b, produces an opposite force F directedlaterally toward the side of the knee through the knee pad 40. Thisinwardly directed force F is applied to the side of the wearers knee andhas been found to be useful in improving the knee supportcharacteristics of the brace.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative hinge structure in which the elongated hingearms 60 and 61 are pivotally joined together by a pin 62. The elongatedarm 61 has an elongated slot 63 through which the pin 62 passes. Theslot 63 is disposed at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the Ielongated arm 61 and, upon rotation about the pin 62,

permits the pivotal axis passing through the pin 62 to be shifted withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the elongated arm 61. The shiftingof the pivotal axis of the hinge with respect to the sleeve moves thepivot axis of the hinge in order to be more closely aligned with thebending axis of the knee as the knee bends.

While the foregoing detailed description of the knee brace has been madewith particular attention to preferred embodiments thereof andadditionally including alternative hinges, the scope of the followingclaims is in no way limited by the specific knee brace described butalso encompasses those modifications which would be obvious to those ofskill in the art.

According to a further modification of the knee brace as shown in FIG.7, wherein like reference numerals are used to identify like elements,upper and lower straps, only one strap 100 being shown, are providedwhich partially encircle the girth and preferably extends around theback side thereof of the wearers leg. One end 101 of the strap 100 issecured to one side 10a of the sleeve 10 by the stitching used to securethe hinge holding pockets 22 to the outside of the sleeve 10. The strap100 extends from the end 10]. around the back side of the wearers legand through a strap holding ring 102 secured to the sleeve 10 at side10b thereof. The free end 103 of the strap 100 which extends through thestrap holding ring 102 has a Velcro hook-carrying securing member 104sewn thereto. The Velcro hook member 104 is located on the same side ofthe strap 100 as the Velcro loop-carrying member 105 so that, when thefree end 103 passes through the ring 102, it can be folded backwardly sothe hooks of the securing member 104 can engage the Velcro loops 105 andsecure the strap in position. The wearer can adjust tension on thestraps by adjusting the length of the strap between the secured end 101and that portion of the strap which engages ring 102. Because the strap100 is secured at end 101, this adjustment can be easily made by thewearer using only one hand.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A knee brace comprising:

a generally cylindrical sleeve having a longitudinal axis, said sleevebeing formed of elastic material and dismensioned to encircle the kneeand adjacent leg sections above and below the knee, said sleeve havingfirst and second side sections adapted to be disposed on opposite sidesof a wearer's knee when in use,

a first and second hinge, each with first and second elongated arms,said first and second arms of each hinge having pivotally connectedmating ends which overlap, said first and second arms of each hingefurther having free ends opposite to said mating ends,

first and second pads fixed relative to said sleeve inwardly of themating ends of said first and second hinges, respectively, said padseach having an inner surface,

third and fourth pads fixed relative to said sleeve inwardly of the freeends of said first arms of said first and second hinges, respectively,said third and fourth pads each having an inner surface, and

said inner surfaces of said first and third pads lying generally in afirst plane and said inner surfaces of said second and fourth pads lyinggenerally in a second plane,

said hinge arms being configured to locate said free ends of said secondarms of said first and second hinges outwardly of said first and secondplanes, respectively, thereby providing in response to the elasticforces applied thereto by said sleeve, a torque on said hinges whichforce said pivotally connected mating hinge arm ends inwardly againstthe opposite sides of a wearers knee to enhance the inward lateralsupport thereof.

- 2. The knee brace of claim 1 further including first and second loopssecured to said sleeve at generally diametrically oppositely disposedpoints thereof axially spaced from said mating hinge arm ends,

an elongated strap having first and second opposite surfaces anda'length exceeding the-girth of said sleeve, said strap being engaged bysaid loops and having complimentary inter-engaging hook and loopfastening elements on said first and second surfaces of said strap,respectively, said hooks being at one end of said strap and said loopsat the other end thereof to permit said opposite strap end regions toengage with said strap alternatively fully encircling said sleeve andpartially encircling said sleeve,

said loops being located to permit said strap to overlie the free endsof said second arms of said hinges to increase said torque and furtherenhance said inward lateral support.

3. The brace of claim 1 wherein there is an absence of pads interiorlyof the free ends of the second arms of said hinges.

1. A knee brace comprising: a generally cylindrical sleeve having alongitudinal axis, saiD sleeve being formed of elastic material anddismensioned to encircle the knee and adjacent leg sections above andbelow the knee, said sleeve having first and second side sectionsadapted to be disposed on opposite sides of a wearer''s knee when inuse, a first and second hinge, each with first and second elongatedarms, said first and second arms of each hinge having pivotallyconnected mating ends which overlap, said first and second arms of eachhinge further having free ends opposite to said mating ends, first andsecond pads fixed relative to said sleeve inwardly of the mating ends ofsaid first and second hinges, respectively, said pads each having aninner surface, third and fourth pads fixed relative to said sleeveinwardly of the free ends of said first arms of said first and secondhinges, respectively, said third and fourth pads each having an innersurface, and said inner surfaces of said first and third pads lyinggenerally in a first plane and said inner surfaces of said second andfourth pads lying generally in a second plane, said hinge arms beingconfigured to locate said free ends of said second arms of said firstand second hinges outwardly of said first and second planes,respectively, thereby providing in response to the elastic forcesapplied thereto by said sleeve, a torque on said hinges which force saidpivotally connected mating hinge arm ends inwardly against the oppositesides of a wearer''s knee to enhance the inward lateral support thereof.2. The knee brace of claim 1 further including first and second loopssecured to said sleeve at generally diametrically oppositely disposedpoints thereof axially spaced from said mating hinge arm ends, anelongated strap having first and second opposite surfaces and a lengthexceeding the girth of said sleeve, said strap being engaged by saidloops and having complimentary inter-engaging hook and loop fasteningelements on said first and second surfaces of said strap, respectively,said hooks being at one end of said strap and said loops at the otherend thereof to permit said opposite strap end regions to engage withsaid strap alternatively fully encircling said sleeve and partiallyencircling said sleeve, said loops being located to permit said strap tooverlie the free ends of said second arms of said hinges to increasesaid torque and further enhance said inward lateral support.
 3. Thebrace of claim 1 wherein there is an absence of pads interiorly of thefree ends of the second arms of said hinges.